Malaysian B2B wholesale startup, Dropee has announced that it’s completed its US$7 million Series A round comprising a combination of equity and debt investments from new and existing investors.
The current financing round is led by returning investor Vynn Capital and welcomes new investors HCL Capital, Resolution Ventures, and LKF Capital, as well as other undisclosed new investors alongside existing investor Brama One Ventures.
Launched in 2016, Dropee has grown from helping SMEs adopt digital solutions to now providing loan and financing services too.
To date, it’s seen over 80K SMEs procure wholesale inventories in its marketplace, annually totalling more than US$100 million in transaction value. The marketplace operates across Malaysia, Singapore, and Indonesia currently.
Lennise Ng, co-founder and CEO of Dropee said in a press statement, “With this Series A round, we’re doubling down on helping micro and small local businesses adopt digital solutions so they’re able to bring down their operating costs, have more access to financing support, and increase their business longevity.”
The funding will also be used to accelerate its finance product offerings for wholesalers and retailers over the next 12 months.
Thus far, the Dropee team said that they have built a significant track record with credit financing portfolios over the past year, and are ready to scale up the offerings by working with strategic partners, including regional banks and non-banking financial institutions.
3 key advice for startups seeking funding
Dropee’s last financing round was in July 2020, when the company raised US$1.3 million. A few months earlier, it became the second Malaysian startup to enter the coveted Y Combinator accelerator programme too.
Prior to all that, it announced an earlier seed round of US$350K in January 2019.
Speaking to Vulcan Post, Lennise shared 3 pieces of advice that she’s learnt through experience when it comes to successfully seeking funding.
Firstly, it’s quality over quantity for her. “It’s always better to find 100 customers who love your product than 1,000 customers who just like it,” she said.
But how does one measure it? By looking at metrics like customers’ monetary spend (paying for your product/service), time spend (their hours spent on using your product/service, and your own social equity (the number of shares and recommendations people spread about your offerings).
Once you’re aware of these metrics, you’d have a lot more confidence when pitching to investors. But she also disagrees with the perception of there being a “perfect time” to do anything.
“You’re never 100% ready, whether you’re talking to investors or customers. Key is to just do it,” she laid out.
Most importantly though, “Always build trust. No matter how big or how small your company is, remember that asking people (VCs, team, customers, etc.) to grow alongside you requires trust.”
“Put in the effort to build trust, listen often, and always communicate and act with integrity,” she concluded.
- You can read our previous coverage on Dropee here.
Featured Image Credit: Dropee
